Mae Cheong-pung, the master of the Ghost Hand Pavilion, had little interest in the affairs of the Demonic Cult.

No matter who became the Cult Leader, the Demonic Cult would not disappear, and the Ghost Hand Pavilion would also have no problems.

In any case, the Yangtze River does not run dry.

He looked at a man in white with his sharp, slanted eyes.

He was a figure from the Martial Alliance. He looked to be in his early to mid-thirties and had a sword slung over his shoulder.

His face looked ordinary, but he had a sturdy physique.

He was from the Martial Alliance's Shadowless Division and was said to have been in charge of the Ghost Hand Pavilion for a long time.

When they launched a large-scale search, he came walking on his own.

"If the one who killed the Blood Killing Faction Leader is the innkeeper of the Gangnam Grand Inn, the Martial Alliance should give a reward, so why are you telling me?"

"I'm just following orders."

His expression was one of knowing nothing.

Mae Cheong-pung, as if he didn't like it, had a wrinkle on his brow.

As his sharp impression became even sharper, the figure from the Shadowless Division also seemed nervous and swallowed his dry saliva.

"Your division master is also a very heartless person. To send you here to die."

"If you kill me, the alliance will not cooperate."

"Cooperation? The Martial Alliance has never cooperated with us in the first place. I don't know what kind of bullshit those bastards who catch and kill even if they just smell of the Demonic Cult are talking about. Let's just keep this level of courtesy. Our kids don't have a good feeling about the Martial Alliance either."

Hearing Mae Cheong-pung's words, the Shadowless Division member looked around with a hardened expression. The faces of everyone standing in the wide main hall were full of killing intent.

"We don't need anything like cooperation. And even if you die, if there's something to cooperate on, we will. Take him away."

The moment Mae Cheong-pung's words ended, the Shadowless Division member, who had jumped into the air like the wind with a whoosh!, swung his sword at Mae Cheong-pung.

He had closed the distance of three zhang in an instant. But the movements of the two men standing on Mae Cheong-pung's left and right were faster.

As the light flashed and two willow-leaf sabers cut the empty air, the neck and legs of the rushing Shadowless Division member were cut off.

"Kraaak!"

With a scream, the Shadowless Division member died, and Mae Cheong-pung stood up from his seat.

"What about the Blood Killing Faction bastards?"

"They are on their way to Nosan. But it seems to be taking time because they are coming scattered to avoid the attention of the Namgung family."

"Tell them to gather as soon as possible."

Mae Cheong-pung, blowing a cold wind, left the main hall and headed for his room. While walking, he recalled the dead Blood Killing Faction Leader, Gan Hou, but soon erased him from his mind.

***

In the early morning, Yeon-il and Woo Jeong-bong, who had come out of the gisaeng house, touched their foreheads and staggered. They had drunk three bottles of liquor until dawn, so they still felt tipsy.

"Did we drink too much?"

Next to Woo Jeong-bong, who was asking himself, stood Yeon-il.

Yeon-il swept his short-grown hair. He recalled the beautiful gisaeng he had spent the night with and blushed.

"They say men get drunk on gisaeng houses, and it's not a lie. Being here, I feel like I'm not myself, but someone else. Compared to here, Shaolin is hell."

"Doesn't your head hurt?"

Yeon-il, to Woo Jeong-bong who was ignoring his words and asking, asked with a sneer, "Are you drunk with just that much? You weak bastard."

"You crazy bastard. Drunk. I can't lose to a bald head."

"My hair has grown."

Yeon-il straightened his shoulders as if he were fine.

Just then, the two ran into Jo Geom-ok, who had woken up at dawn and was taking a walk.

Jo Geom-ok, seeing their half-dazed appearance, clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"If you drink all night like that, you'll become lazy. Then you'll be caught up by your juniors."

"Oh, is that so? So, our Sister Jo, do you have any close juniors?"

"I do."

"I can't hear you. Flap! Flap!"

Seeing Woo Jeong-bong, who was sticking out his tongue, making flapping sounds, and even flapping his hands like wings, Jo Geom-ok almost blurted out the words 'you stupid bastard'.

"Do you want to get hit?"

"I can't hear you. Is a dog passing by?"

Seeing Woo Jeong-bong looking at a distant mountain, Jo Geom-ok thought it was best to avoid him and ignored him.

Jo Geom-ok looked at Yeon-il. Yeon-il, whose eyes met Jo Geom-ok's, stood at attention.

Jo Geom-ok shook her head and walked past them, moving away.

Yeon-il grabbed Woo Jeong-bong's shoulder with a face full of worry.

"Don't you think we made a bad impression?"

"Don't worry. We've already made a bad impression, so there's nothing to look good for. My sister has a bit of a dirty personality. I can't understand why you like my sister. I'm telling you, she's crazy."

"It's my heart. Mind your own business."

At Woo Jeong-bong's words, Yeon-il bowed his head with a gloomy expression. Woo Jeong-bong, who had patted Yeon-il's shoulder, turned his body and shouted, "Let's go! Let's go have another drink! If not now, when will we drink!"

As Woo Jeong-bong headed for the gisaeng house again, Yeon-il also followed.

Jo Geom-ok, who was returning to her room after finishing her walk, sighed because of Woo Jeong-bong and Yeon-il. But she couldn't get angry.

Even though they looked like that, when they returned to their rooms, they were practicing qi circulation and training their martial arts.

Since they didn't skip their martial arts training even if they didn't study, she couldn't really say anything. But she had to give them a warning.

But when she gave them a warning, she herself got angrier.

"Sister."

Namgung Ji hurriedly ran to Jo Geom-ok, who was heading for her room.

"What is it?"

"This. I received it this morning. It's from Wudang."

As Namgung Ji held out a letter, Jo Geom-ok took it with a curious expression and opened it.

The letter said that since the sect leader was old and bedridden, all the disciples should gather.

Jo Geom-ok, who had folded the letter, recalled the sect leader.

'He's not someone who would lie down easily...'

It was true that the sect leader was old, but he was a healthier and stronger being than anyone else.

"What is it?"

When Namgung Ji asked, looking with her bright eyes, Jo Geom-ok shook her head.

"It's nothing. They're just telling me to stop by the mountain for a while."

"Really? I'm going to the alliance too."

"Why to the alliance?"

"My father said he hasn't seen me in a long time and told me to come. He wants to see me. It's been a while since I've been to the alliance, so I think I should go once. I want to see my younger brother too."

Jo Geom-ok could not understand the heart of a sister who was worried about her younger brother.

"Alright."

Jo Geom-ok answered and then went into her room and packed her things.

When she told Woo Jeong-bong, who had returned to his room in the afternoon, the news, Woo Jeong-bong packed his things without even sleeping.

He said that since the sect leader had collapsed, he had to go quickly, and he even urged Jo Geom-ok.

*** 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Bi-sun, who was watching the three people riding out of the inn's main gate on horseback from afar, fiddled with his short-grown beard.

"The shields are leaving."

Bi-sun felt a strange feeling as the disciples of Shaolin and Wudang also left the inn not long after Namgung Ji had left for the alliance.

This was the first time they had all left the inn at once like this. He had a bad feeling.

"They all have things to do, so it can't be helped."

Jo-rim, who was sitting right behind him, was also feeling the same way. But it was just a feeling, and nothing had been confirmed yet.

"Young Master Woo and Monk Yeon-il said they would come as soon as possible, so we'll see them again soon."

Jo-rim smiled, as she saw the two people who often came to the gisaeng house as cute.

A short while later, Il-hu entered the room. After drinking water, she delivered the news she had heard in Guguang.

"It is said that three people are competing for the position of the Demonic Cult Leader. Fortunately, it seems the innkeeper has safely escaped the cult. Since his internal injuries are deep, he seems to be resting in some place."

"That's a relief."

"That's good."

At Il-hu's report, the two let out a sigh of relief. It was natural for the two to be worried about Jin Sa-wol's safety.

"It seems the Hwayeong Pavilion Master is coming as the Hao Faction Master. There's also a story that the Hwahwaru Master has become the Dam Pavilion Master. Nothing has been decided for sure yet, but it seems they will officially announce it soon."

At Il-hu's story, Jo-rim showed an indifferent expression.

"They are both daughters of the Seo Mun family head."

It seemed the Seo Mun family head had passed down a position to each of his daughters. It was a natural thing.

But she couldn't hide her disappointed feelings.

If the Hwahwaru Master had died, the next Hwahwaru Master should have been Jo-rim, no matter who looked at it.

In terms of experience and skill, there was no one in the Hwahwaru who could follow her.

But the Dam Pavilion Master.

Il-hu didn't like that part.

Seeing Jo-rim's stiffly hardened expression, Bi-sun opened his mouth to change the atmosphere.

"It doesn't matter who becomes the Cult Leader, but isn't the problem the escaped former Cult Leader? The cult must be tracking him, right?"

"The Cult Leader is important, but is the escaped Cult Leader important? It seems the tracking will just be a pretense and will end."

"Indeed."

As Bi-sun agreed, Jo-rim asked Il-hu.

"Is there anything else special?"

"No, there isn't."

Not long after Il-hu's answer ended, Shin Hong, the master of the Do Faction, entered the room with a gentle smile on his lips.

"Did you call?"

Shin Hong entered with a good-natured face and bowed his head to Bi-sun and Jo-rim.

Jo-rim asked.

"How are the movements of the Martial Alliance?"

"Because the Demonic Cult has fallen into chaos, it seems they are contemplating how to deal with it. There are those who say we should launch a large-scale subjugation, but since the opponent is the Demonic Cult, it seems they cannot easily make a decision."

"The justification?"

"Do we need a justification to attack the Demonic Cult? Haha."

At Shin Hong's answer, Jo-rim nodded and asked again.

"Anything else? Is there anything that has come up related to the inn?"

"There isn't. The Hao Faction is currently noisy with talk about the master. There's a lot of talk like, 'Is he coming from the Demonic Cult again? Then should we stick with the Demonic Cult or the Martial Alliance? The elders are all Martial Alliance. If the Hao Faction Master comes, we might die.'"

Just by listening to the stories of Il-hu and Shin Hong, one could tell that the information of the Hwahwaru and the Hao Faction was different.

Shin Hong did not know Seo Mun-ryeon, and he was not in a position to know.

Bi-sun felt that all the attention of the Hao Faction and the Hwahwaru was focused on the Demonic Cult.

"Go."

At Jo-rim's words, Shin Hong left the room.

As he left, Il-hu quietly opened her mouth.

"We cannot find Son Ae-hwa's whereabouts. It is certain that she has left Luoyang, but she has been missing since then."

"A problem has arisen."

"No one in the Demonic Cult has seen her either."

Bi-sun shook his head, and Jo-rim frowned.

Son Ae-hwa had disappeared after announcing that she would return from Luoyang. To find her, Jo-rim had moved her own people, but she could not be found.

Bi-sun had also used the Dark Cloud Division, but he could not find out and was very worried.

"It's certain that she ran away. That crazy bitch."

Il-hu saw it as Son Ae-hwa having broken her promise with the innkeeper and left to find a way to live.

Bi-sun saw it differently from Il-hu.

If she had left as Il-hu said, it would be a good thing. Because the possibility of her being alive was high.

But if she had been caught, there was no possibility of her being alive.

"Let's wait until the innkeeper comes for the matter of Guard Son."

Bi-sun, having made a conclusion, stood up from his seat. As he stood up, Jo-rim also stood up. It was time to go around the inn.

***

Splash! Splash!

With the sound of water, black figures appeared on the dark riverside.

In the distance, in the darkness, about ten large sailboats were lined up in a row, and people were continuously falling into the river.

A smile filled the lips of Mae Cheong-pung, who had climbed onto the riverside with a body soaked in river water.

"I miss blood."

(End of Chapter)